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Guests inspect the new Pixel phone at the product
event in San Francisco on October 4. EPA

Google takes on Apple with new Pixel smartphone

SAN FRANCISCO, October 5, 2016

Alphabet Inc’s Google launched on Tuesday an aggressive challenge to Apple and Samsung, launching its own new line of smartphones called Pixel, designed to showcase a digital helper called "Google Assistant”, a report said.

The new phones represent a major move by Google to sell its own consumer devices, instead of largely just supplying software for other manufacturers, reported New Zealand Herald.

At a starting price of $649, the new phones are aimed at the same markets as Apple's iPhone and Samsung's Galaxy flagship phones, it said.

The smartphone features a powerful camera and long-lasting battery and will be offered in two screen sizes -- 5 inches and 5.5 inches -- and three colours: black, silver and blue.

A central element of all the new devices is the Google Assistant, a digital helper that uses artificial intelligence to deliver what CEO Sundar Pichai described as "a personal Google for each and every user."

Google has sold smartphones and tablets under the Nexus brand, which it launched in 2010 as a way to show off the best features of its Android software, the report said, highlighting that it put relatively little effort into promoting those devices.

Android already powers the majority of smartphones sold around the world. But Samsung, the biggest maker of Android phones, has increasingly been adding more of its own software -- even its own Samsung Pay mobile wallet-- on the phones it sells. Another big rival, Apple, has built its own services, such as online maps and its own Siri personal assistant, to replace Google's apps on the iPhone.

‘SMART SPEAKER’

Google is also likely to begin selling a voice-activated "smart speaker" called Home, apparently modelled on Amazon's Echo. Analysts are expecting Google will announce more details, including price and availability, at Tuesday's event.

The "Home" device will feature Google's digital "Assistant" service, a voice-activated personal butler that can search the internet, play music or perform other useful tasks. "Assistant" is the company's answer to similar concierge services from rivals, including Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Microsoft's Cortana.




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